FARMERS' INSTITUTES. 39 



well kuuwn that a horse can exeit about twice his ordinary power for a 

 short time, thus allowiuj^ him to haul about the same load over short 

 hills haA'ing this rise, that he ordinarily draws over the more level por 

 tions of the road. No stretch of road should be entirely level. Good 

 drainage demands that it have some longitudinal slope — preferably not 

 less than six inches to the 100 feet. If road grades could be kept be 

 tween six inches and four feet to 100 feet they would be ideal grades. 



The form of cross section of the road must vary somewhat with the 

 kind of road and with the topography of the country over which it passes. 

 It should always be sufficiently rounded to quickly drain the water to 

 the gutters or side ditches, but any excess of this amount is an injury. 

 If the road is not more than 20 feet wide nine or ten inches crown is 

 about right for earth, six or seven inches for gravel and five inches for 

 macadam. Do not build the roads too wide. For the heaviest traveled 

 country roads 24 feet is an abundance, while ordinarily sixteen to twenty 

 feet is ample. Fifteen feet is plenty for two ordinary vehicles to pass^ 

 and when the space is increased to twenty feet it will meet any emer- 

 gency. (See plans 1 and 2.) 



Where the road is on any embankment over three feet high, a suitable 

 guard rail should be built along the exposed sides; this is best when 

 about three feet high and is easily built by setting posts eight feet apart, 

 notched at the top so as to receive the lower half of a 4x4 scantling set 

 edgewise in the notches. It is fastened to the post by bands of hoop iron 

 placed over the scantling and nailed to the posts. (See plan 3.) 



DRAINAGE. 



No matter how well the foregoing principles are carried out, no road 

 will be a success that is not provided with thorough drainage; it is al- 

 most always cheaper and much more satisfactory to drain a wet place 

 in a road than to attempt to fill it up. The character and kind of drain- 

 age to be used will depend altogether upon the kind of soil and lay of 

 the land traversed by the road. These will be treated more fully under 

 different tj'pes of roads, but in general, it is safe to say that all roads 

 must be provided with side ditches of sufficient capacity and slope to 

 quickly remove all storm and soil water to the nearest natural outlet, 

 which outlet must be so improved, if necessary, that it will immediately 

 remove all water from the roadway. Ditches are of little value that do 

 not provide for a free and uniform flow of water. 



SAND ROADS. 



Should the road be of sand and naturally drained, leave it almost flat, 

 with side ditches very shallow, and having only slope enough to carry off 

 storm water when the ground is frozen, so as to avoid pools in the sur- 

 face of the road. Keep the travel as much as possible confined to one 

 track with some kind of vegetation on the shoulders that will not be 

 killed by the occasional turning out of vehicles. Plant shade trees and 

 leave the natural ones, as well as the brush; in fact, do all you can to 

 exclude the drying effects of the sun, as these roads are much better 

 when kept moist. Sand roads can be temporarily improved in many 

 ways. A coat of straw or Rorghum crushings will afford some relief. 



